Advertising device.



D. ROBBINS.

ADVERTISING DEVICE.

APPLlcA'TmN FILED FEB. 6. 19u.

I Patented Jan.. 22, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

-DAVID ROBBINS, OF CLIFTON, ARIZONA.

ADVERTISING DEVICE.

Application led February 6, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID ROBBINS, residing at Clifton, in the county of Greenlee and State of Arizona, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Advertising Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to advertising devices, wherein are combined the advantages of attractive display with those arising from mystification of the spectator, due to a sudden apparent transformation of the subject matter displayed.

One of the objects of the invention is the production of a device which is adapted to exhibit by direct vision a given object, then rendering said object invisible, and simultaneously projecting a refiected image of a different object so'that it will apparently occupy the room of the vanished object.

Another aim is the provision of means whereby the change from display of an actual object to that of a reflected object, and vice versa, is accomplished automatically and intermittently, in such manner that the actual and reflected images, at the time of the change, seem to merge, or dissolve, the one into the other.

Still another object is in the self-control of the electric lighting means which is one of the prime factors of the invention.

Another object is the provision of a collapsible container or case for the device, whereby the same is rendered readily portable, and its attractiveness to the advertiser enhanced.

Other objects and aims of the invention will be in part obvious from the ensuing description, and in part specifically adverted to.

The elements, combinations and arrange ments of parts constituting the present invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and the scope of the invention succinctly defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken asa part of this specification, and in which I have illustrated a merely preferred form of embodiment of the invention:

Figu@ l is a sectional view through an Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 22, 1918.

Serial No. 146,924.

apparatus embodying the invention, illustrating diagrammatically the lighting circuits; and Y Fig. 2 is a sectional view, with parts removed, showing the collapsed appearance of the containing case, and indicating by dotted lines the expanded form thereof.

Referring to the numerals on the drawings, and considering first the containing case, l indicates the front wall thereof, divided by a rail 2 into upper and lower sections 3 and l respectively, each section being provided with a closure of transparent material, preferably glass. The said front wall l is hinged to a top memberl 5, whichin turn is hinged to a back wall 6, while the latter is hinged to a floor or bottom 7. The various parts enumerated are provided with angled meeting faces as shown, so that they may be held in the relation shown in Fig. 1 when the walls are expanded, and any ordinary means such as a snap fastner may be provided for maintaining` the lower end of the front wall in its relation to the forward end of the bottom wall, and additional means might also be provided for holding the several parts of the expanded device in their relations. Side walls will of course be prorided, which may be applied in any ordinary or preferred manner to the hollow structure thus far defined, which, by the way, is preferably, substantially square in assembled cross section.

I prefer to provide within the case a compartment 8, in which is to be placed any preferred object for continuous display, and, as illustrated, this compartment is so arranged that the lower glass-covered section 4 of the front wall l constitutes the front wall of the compartment, and affords a view into the interior thereof. The bottom wall of said compartment is simply a part of the bottom wall 7; the rear wall thereof is a member 9 hinged to the bottom wall 7 in such manner that it will fold down upon the back wall 7 in a direction away from the front wall l, and of such height that its upper end when extended will be horizontally alined with the rail 2. The top wall of the compartment comprises a member 10 hinged to the back wall 9 so that it will fold down thereupon. The forward end of said top wall is held in proper relation to the rail 2 by any ordinary means such as a snap fastener. I thus provide a closed compartment in the front of the device, whose interior is visible through the glass 4, and in such compartment I may place any desired object, as for instance, an advertising card 11 held in 'clips or the like upon the back wall 9.

A compartment 12, similar to the com partment 8 as to dimensions, is provided at the backof the containing case separated from the compartment 8 by a space 13, as shown. The top wall of said compartment 12 comprises a member 14 hinged to the back wall @of the case in horizontal alinement with the rail 2 and so that said member 14 will fold up on the back wall 6 in a direction away from the bottom wall 7. The front wall of said compartment 12 comprises a kmember 15, hinged to the member 14 so that it may fold up thereagainst.` The compartment 12 is intended to comprise the devices for controlling the electriclighting of the device, hereinafter to be described. 16 indicates a swing sash member carrying a pane of glass or the like 17, hinged to the top wall 5 forwardly thereof, and adapted, as by means of the proper angling of its upper edge, to be held in a suspended position from said top wall at an angle of 4 o thereto. The lower end of this member 16 when in its said suspended position is adapted to rest upon and be properly secured to the upper forward end of com partment 12, by any ordinary or preferred means. 1t will be evident that by reason of the rectangular form of the box, the member 1G will be at an angle of 45 to the bottom of the case.

The compartment 18, whose bottom wall is the member 14, is intended to receive an object, which, as is evident, will be visible from the front of the case through the glass 8 and the glass 17; and the space 18 between the compartments 8 and 12 is also adapted to receive an object, which, in accordance with the aim of this invention, should be an entirely different object from that displayed in the compartment 18.

To explain now in a general way the manner in which the object of invention first stated in the beginning of this specification is accomplished, it should be noted that the interior of the compartment 18, with the exception, of course, of the glass front, is provided with a surface which does not refleet light. And the said compartment is also provided, at its upper portion and preferably well forwardly, with a lamp, preferably an incandescent electric lamp 19, as shown, which may be provided with a reflec` tor 20 forwardly thereof, so that the lamp itself will not be visible from the front of the case. The upper rail of the sash member 16 is preferably wide enough so that 1t extends below the line of the lamp 19, and

-hides the same from the view of the spectator looking through the upper section 3 of the front wall. Some object is disposed in the compartment 18 in such manner that it will be visible `through the glass 17,V when the lamp 19 is alight. have shown a clip 21 secured to the rear wall of the compartment, which isadapted to hold any pre ferred object; although of course the object might be laid directly upon the top of member14, the only essential being `that it shall be visible from the frontof the cases, as aforesaid, when the compartment is lighted.

In the space 18 intervening between the compartments'S and 12, which space is below the glass 17 as shown, and at an angle thereto as stated, I place some other object, preferably much dilferent from that which is in the compartment 18. l also provide means for throwing a light upon the object in this space, using by preference an incandescent electric lamp 22, disposed so that its light will be directed downwardly upon the object.

It will be evident that if the lamp 19 is turned on while at the same time the lamp 22 is turned olf, the object in the compartment 18 will be directly visible through the front of the casing. lfnow the light 19 be turned out, and the lamp 22 turned on, the interior of compartment 18 being perfectly dark and black, the effect will be to give to the glass 17 a mirror back. The lighted object in the space 13 below said glass 17, because of the angle of the glass thereto, will be reflected as in a mirror, and t0 the spectator at the front of the casing the effect will be as though he saw the object in said space within the iield of vision previously occupied by the object in compartment 18. 1t will be evident that in order to obtain the most advantageous operation of the device means should be provided whereby the turning on of light 19 should be simultaneous with the turning oit of lamp 22, and vice versa. rlhis is accomplished automatically by means of a thermostatic switch, which is preferably constructed as follows:

Pivotally mounted in the compartment 12 is a thermostatic bar 24. 25 indicates a switch, pivoted at one end to the support, and connected to the free end of bar 24.

VThe free end of the switch is bifurcated so that it may straddle a contact 26, suitably locate-d upon the support. 27 indicates a secondl contact, and 28 indicates a leaf spring in superposed relation to said contact 27. [L wire 29 is coiled about the thermostatic bar 24, and is adapted to have the eii'ect of a resistance, so that the passage of son of the figures.

current therethrough will heat the bar 24. The consequent expansion of the bar 24 tends to move the switch out of its engagement with the contact 26 and toward the contact 27 and spring 28, the switch being beveled at its bifurcated portion so that the engagement thereof with the spring 28 will force the latterdownwardly and into contact with the contact 27. Inasmuch as the spring 2S has attached thereto a conductor, it is evident that this movement of the switch may be used to close a shunt circuit, in this case the circuit controlling the lamp in the space 13 between compartments 8 and 1Q; while the circuit which is closed by the engagement of the switch with contact 26 controls the lamp 19, in an obvious manner.v

as shown for instance diagrammatically in Fig. 1, where t-he lamps 19 and 22 are in parallel, along with the continuously lighted lamp in the compartment 8.

In order to give to the switch a final snap movement, I prefer to provide a yieldingly mounted retarder for engagement with the free end of the switch, comprising, as shown, a yieldingly and insulatedly mounted member, 30, spring pressed upwardly, and hav ing its head which contacts with the end of switch 25 beveled on both sides, so that the. switch may ride thereover as the head -is depressed. ylhe effect of this device is to accumulate the movements of expansion and contraction of the thermostatic bar, so that when the switch finally clears the head of' the retarder it goes over with a snap.

ln Fig. 2 1 have illustrated the method of' collapsing the case which contains my vdevice. The method of folding the parts one upon the other is obvious from a compari- It is believed also that the mode of operation of the device is clear from the foregoing description of parts, and further detailed explanation thereof is accordingly omitted. It may be said, however, as illustrating the value of this invention as an advertising device, that illusion which is produced is effective not only in itself, hut because of the suggestions which it may be made to convey. For instance, a piece of money may be displayed in compartment 18 and an article of sale in space 13. lVhen the Jfunction of the device has been performed, the inevitable suggestion t-o the observer is that the advertiser whose card may be continuously displayed in compartment 8, is in the business of exchanging the said articles of sale for said pie-ces of money.

As, many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be taken as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

1t is also to he understood that materials, sizes, and relative positions of parts, are unimportant, except las they are called for in the following claims, which define the scope of invention contemplated.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An optical illusion display device ccmprising a casing formed With a pair of independent sight openings in its front wall, having transparent closures; a partition in said casing forming independent compartments, each of said sight openings opening into one of said independent compartments, each of said compartments appearing, when viewed through the sight openings, to occupy the entire space upon its respective side of the partition, but one of said compartments having a secret portion extending behind the other of said compartments out of the path of direct vision from bot-h of Said sight openings; an object to be displayed disposed within said first mentioned compartment in the direct path of vision through the sight opening into said compartment; a second object to be displayed disposed within the hidden space behind theV last mentioned compartment; and means within said casing for cutting on" the direct vision of said first article displayed and for substituting a vision of said second article through the same opening.

2. An optical illusion display device comprising a Casing formed with a pair of independent sight openings in its front wall, having transparent closures; a partition in Said. casing forming independent compartments, each of said sight openings opening into one of said independent compartments,

each of said compartments appearing, when viewed through the sight openings, to occupy the entire space upon its respective side of the partition, but one of said compartments having a secret portion extending behind the other ofl said compartments out of the path of direct vision from both of Said sight openings; an object to be displayed disposed Within said first mentioned compartment in the direct path of vision through the sight opening into said compartment; a second object to be displayed disposed within the hidden. space behind the last mentioned compartment, a transparent reflector interposed between said first mentioned article and the sight opening of said first mentioned compartment; means for alternately lighting the main portion of said first mentioned compartment and the hidden portion thereof whereby to make said transparent reflector alternately reflective and transparent, said transparent reflector being arranged to permit direct vision of said rst In testimony whereof I ax my signature article When transparent, and t0 enable re in the presence of tWo Witnesses. ected vision of said second article when re- DAVID ROBBINS.

Elective; and said second compartment being Witnesses: adapted to contain descriptive matter of Y L. KEARNEY, either of Said articles displayed. IRA E. MCDOWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner at Eatents,

Washington, D. VC. K 

